Quick picks: our top recommendations
| Book | Author | Find It |
|---|---|---|
| Little Bunny and the Magic Christmas Tree | Check on Amazon → | |
| A Christmas Tree for Pyn | Check on Amazon → | |
| The Scrawny Little Tree | Check on Amazon → | |
| Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers | Check on Amazon → | |
| Paper Angels | Check on Amazon → | |
| Little Tree | Check on Amazon → |
Below are 10 titles in total — we’ve highlighted our 6 favourites above. Each one links straight through to Amazon AU.
Christmas Tree stories
Little Bunny and the Magic Christmas Tree
Author: David Martin
Illustrator: Valerie Gorbachev
ISBN: 978-0763636937
Find Little Bunny and the Magic Christmas Tree on Amazon AU →
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Candlewick Press (Walker Books Australia), 2011
This is a magical story about a little bunny’s adventure with some Christmas tree decorations that come to life overnight. It is a sweet story about family, imagination and the spirit of Christmas.
A Christmas Tree for Pyn
Olivier Dunrea
ISBN:978-0399245060
Find A Christmas Tree for Pyn on Amazon AU →
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Philomel Books (Penguin USA), October 2011
Publisher’s Description: Christmas is coming. In the craggy rocks on the snowy mountainside, tiny Pyn has her heart set on decorating her very first Christmas tree. But, “No Christmas tree,” Papa says. Still, Pyn won’t take no for an answer. She knows that a Christmas tree is just the thing their cottage needs to make the season festive and cheery. Pyn is determined to find the perfect Christmas tree – no matter what. With this story of the love between a father and daughter, Olivier Dunrea captures the true spirit of Christmas.
Suitable for ages 3+
The Scrawny Little Tree
Ed Mehler and Susie Pollard
ISBN:978-0843198607
Find The Scrawny Little Tree on Amazon AU →
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Price Stern Sloan (Penguin USA), October 2011
Publisher’s description: Originally published in 1973, The Scrawny Little Tree tells of a destitute little boy who has always wanted a Christmas tree. He finally has saved enough to buy a little tree all his own, one with scrawny limbs and very few needles. But the boy’s love for his first Christmas tree is not affected by its diminutive stature. His love and the magic of Christmas combine to make a strange and wonderful thing happen to the town . . . Told in rhyme and with retro illustrations, The Scrawny Little Tree is sure to become a favourite holiday tale!
Suitable for ages 3+
Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers
Lynley Dodd
ISBN:978-0143504627
Find Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers on Amazon AU →
Format: Board Books
Publisher: Penguin Group (NZ)
Published in: New Zealand
Published: October 2010
This is a simple, funny and cheeky story that is suitable for all ages. Slinky Malinki is similar to many little children around the world at Christmas time. With his busy little hands and inquisitive little mind he simply can’t help himself from exploring the Christmas tree.
The illustrations are large, bright and full of Christmas colours. This board book version means this durable book is great for little hands. With a long list of decorations, this book is a wonderful prelude to trimming your own Christmas tree.
Suitable for ages 1+ (★★★★)
Paper Angels
Emma Calder
ISBN:978-1408805084
Find Paper Angels on Amazon AU →
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Allen & Unwin)
Published in: United Kingdom
Published: October 2010
Publisher’s Description: The children are getting ready for Christmas, but bedtime arrives before they get to choose which very special angel to put on the top of the tree . . . So, while the children sleep, the angels work together to make this the best Christmas tree ever! With angels to cut out and decorate, this is the perfect companion book for the run-up to Christmas.
Little Tree
E.E. Cummings
ISBN:978-0517881781
Find Little Tree on Amazon AU →
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Dragonfly Books
Published: October 2010
Age suitability: 5+
Publisher’s description: A simple celebration of Christmas by a well-known poet. Two children carry the scrawny tree away from a city street corner into the house, dress it up with pride and display it to an urban crowd from a glowing brownstone window.
The Little Christmas Tree
Loek Koopmans
ISBN:978-0863157172
Find The Little Christmas Tree on Amazon AU →
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Floris Books, September 2009
Age suitability; 3+
Publisher’s Description: The little Christmas tree hates its sharp needles, and longs to have soft leaves like all the other trees. But will it be happier when its wish is granted? Perhaps it’s not so bad being a little Christmas tree after all…
Christmas Tree Farm
Ann Purmell
ISBN:978-0823418862
Find Christmas Tree Farm on Amazon AU →
Format: Library Binding
Publisher: Holiday House, September 2006
Age suitability: 4+
Publisher’s Description: Most shoppers don’t know that a family has worked all year long planting, pruning, measuring, and tagging trees. This vibrantly illustrated book shows the entire process from seedling to decorated tree as a warm-spirited family carries on a holiday tradition.
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
Robert Barry
ISBN:978-0385327213
Find Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree on Amazon AU →
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Published: October 2000
Age suitability: 5+
Publisher’s Description: Mr. Willowby’s tree was so tall, it couldn’t stand up straight in his parlor. Mr. Willowby asked his butler to chop off the top of the tree. What happens to the treetop? Where will it be for Christmas? Snuggle up with this story and follow along through a forest full of friendly creatures who get to share in a bit of Christmas joy.
The Beautiful Christmas Tree
Charlotte Zolotow
ISBN:978-0618152452
Find The Beautiful Christmas Tree on Amazon AU →
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
Published: September 2001
Age suitability: 5+
Publisher’s Description: Mr. Crockett is neither handsome nor fashionable, but he knows a secret–all things need love and care. With years of attention and patience, he transforms his shabby brownstone into an elegant home and brings a scrawny, neglected tree to life, teaching his critical neighbors that beauty can be found in unexpected places.
How we read Christmas tree books at home
Joel’s family puts the tree up the first weekend of December every year. Lila’s family waits until exactly two weeks before Christmas. Mia’s class makes a paper tree on the wall. Whatever the rhythm, a Christmas tree story sits beautifully alongside the ritual.
- Read on tree-decorating night. The book becomes the warm-up for the activity. Read while the box of decorations is open on the floor — the smell, the rustle of tinsel, the book in your lap. The combination is what kids will remember 30 years later.
- Pair with a single ornament made by your child. One handmade decoration per year per child, dated on the back. The book is the moment you make it. By the time they’re 18 you have a tree that tells their entire childhood.
- Mix the pine-tree books with the gum-tree books. Most Christmas-tree picture books are Northern-Hemisphere by default. Aussie titles (The Twelve Days of Christmas in its Aussie edition, An Aussie Night Before Christmas) make space for kids to see their actual hot Christmas reflected back.
- For families who don’t do a tree: several of these books work as “a tree at the neighbour’s house” reads — cultural literacy without participation. Read them alongside a candle or a small holiday symbol of your own.
- Save one book for “the night the tree comes down.” January 6th, or whichever day your family takes the tree down, deserves its own story. The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon and similar quiet titles fit this slot beautifully.
Why Christmas tree stories matter
The Christmas tree is one of the few annual rituals most Australian families still keep, even when they’ve dropped the rest of the religious framing. Picture books that take the tree seriously — rather than as set-dressing — honour what the tree actually does in a family’s year. It’s a focal point, a memory archive, and an invitation to stop moving for a few minutes.
The other thing the better Christmas-tree books do, almost incidentally, is teach kids about generosity, change, and time. Many of these stories follow a tree across multiple Christmases or different families — and that long-time-frame is one of the more useful frames a child can encounter through fiction.
Frequently asked questions
How early in December should we start reading these?
Our team consensus: from the day the tree goes up. Reading them in November is fine if your family does an early tree, but the magic doesn’t fully fire until the actual tree is in the room.
Best Christmas-tree book for under-3s?
Spot’s First Christmas Tree and Maisy’s Christmas Tree — sturdy board-book editions, no plot complexity, easy on wriggly toddlers.
Are any of these about Australian native Christmas trees?
Western Australia’s actual Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda, the WA Christmas Tree) gets the occasional appearance in regional Aussie titles. Drop us a note via the contact page if you want regional Aussie picks — we maintain a side list.
What about families that don’t do Christmas at all?
Many of these books work as cultural literacy without participation — your child meets a tree-having family on the page without your home needing to do likewise. The Big Book of Families from our other shortlists frames this broadly.
Shop the full list on Amazon AU
Each link below opens an Amazon AU search for that title’s exact ISBN. We earn a small commission if you decide to buy — thank you, it keeps the lights on at the Bookcase.
- Little Bunny and the Magic Christmas Tree
- A Christmas Tree for Pyn
- The Scrawny Little Tree
- Slinky Malinki’s Christmas Crackers
- Paper Angels
- Little Tree
- The Little Christmas Tree
- Christmas Tree Farm
- Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
- The Beautiful Christmas Tree
📚 Looking for more book lists?
We’ve curated 28 picture-book lists across six themes — Family, Christmas & ANZAC, Australian identity, Learning to Read, Gifts & Milestones, and Themes & Activities. Hand-read by the team, age-graded, and ready to use.
